CULLOWHEE -- Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo discussed
with university trustees Thursday, June 7, several campus reorganizations
that are designed to forge a stronger link between students and faculty
and WCU’s regional outreach programs.

“This new process should allow the university to bring increased resources
to the benefit of the region, even in tight budget times,” Bardo told the
trustees at their quarterly meeting.

Under the reorganization plan, to take effect this academic year, the
title of the Mountain Resource Center will change to the Center for Regional
Development. The center, which provides regional development assistance
to the westernmost counties of North Carolina, will report to the vice
chancellor for academic affairs.

To improve the university’s ability to assist the hospitality industry
in Western North Carolina and to provide extensive educational opportunities
for students in hospitality management, Bardo announced the establishment
of an educational institute for tourism research within the hospitality
management program in the College of Applied Sciences. The tourism research
institute will focus on data collection and data analysis related to marketing
hospitality businesses in WNC.

The changes, which come as the university is facing a possible cut of
2 percent, or about $1 million, in the state-funded portion of its operating
budget, are designed to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve
the effectiveness of outreach services to the region, Bardo told the board.

“This process of increasing effectiveness and efficiency in certain
crucial areas of the institution also will enable us to minimize the effects
of the budget cut on other programs where we have made important strides
over the last several years,” Bardo said.

The Mountain Resource Center’s economic development activities and other
regional outreach efforts now will be carried out by the Center for Regional
Development, which will increase its focus on such areas as polling, citizen
attitude analysis, grant proposal assistance and short-term intervention
to assist towns, counties and nonprofit organizations.

Moving the Center for Regional Development to the Division of Academic
Affairs will bring greater faculty and student involvement to the university’s
outreach and service arm, Bardo said, assuring a connection between crucial
academic programs and outreach services and increasing the intellectual
resources available to the region.

Western North Carolina Tomorrow, a 17-county regional leadership organization
headquartered in the MRC, and the University Economic Development Administration
Center, which provides specialized services for local governments, will
be part of the new Center for Regional Development.

Creation of the Institute for Tourism Research comes as Western is in
the early stages of planning a new Hospitality Management Center that is
expected to be funded by federal grants from the Small Business Administration.
Western has been working with Smoky Mountain Host, a regional travel and
tourism organization, for the last two years on the possible development
of a specialization in tourism research.

The Mountain Resource Center’s Local Government Training Program, which
links the region with the N.C. Institute of Government, and its on-going
programs in nonprofit management offered in partnership with Duke University
will continue under the jurisdiction of the Division of Continuing Education
and Summer School.

The western region of the N.C. Small Business and Technology Development
Center, currently part of MRC, will be moved to the College of Business.
The SBTDC offers business counseling services throughout the region.

The trustees also endorsed the creation of a Residential Center for
Service Learning, a student community that will be designed to integrate
student community service and volunteerism as part of the academic curriculum.
The living and learning center will be housed in the building that is currently
home to University Health Services, after the completion of renovations
approved in the November 2000 higher education bond referendum.

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Last modified: Friday, June 8, 2001
Copyright 2001 by Western Carolina University